AN: Soooo attempting to write and post to a schedule does not work, and I apologize for that. BUT here's two new chapters! And I am part way through another. Because school and SAD are a nightmare and make writing during the school year difficult, I will get as much work done during my summers as I can.

Also, I managed to rope my partner into editing for me, so if there's any typos left: blame him :D.


Harry gazed up at the moon, standing in the center of the paving stones that made up the focal point of the garden. There were four walkways that wandered off into the darkness, each a point of the compass. Surrounding the patio were blood red hedges that were black in the moonlight.

Once Harry had looked his fill of the moon, he brought his camera up and snapped a picture. He chose the path that led to the north, away from the house. After several minutes the hedges stopped and opened up to a large pond. The water was perfectly still, reflecting the half-moon as if in a mirror. Harry walked around until the curve of the moon was in front of him. Stopping, he levitated a small stone so that it lined up with the smooth edge of the reflection before releasing the spell and allowing it to drop into the water below. He had planned on taking photos of the ripples through the moon, but was more interested in the glint of silver he saw.

On a whim, he cast his patronus, willing it to stand where he had released the pebble so that it looked as if the stag was the source of the disturbance. He concentrated the magic flowing into the spell, making it appear a solid glowing silver instead of the wispy form it usually took. Satisfied, he took several photos before letting the stag go where it wanted.

Abandoning the surface of the water, it leapt upwards and cantered around in the sky. Harry lay on the ground taking pictures when he felt the animal was going to do something amusing. It wasn't very much longer before it was joined by another in the shape of a swan. He watched them chase each other for a while, camera snapping, before standing. When he did, his stag came back to earth and stood before him. The swan floated down and alighted between its antlers. Harry took one last picture before letting the magic dissipate, sending silver threads out from where the patronus had stood.

"I didn't want to disturb you, but I thought a second spell could help you find another topic for your journal." Narcissa's lilting voice sounded from behind him. He slowly turned towards her.

"You didn't disturb me, it was actually a very welcome addition. It was rather curious the way they interacted with each other."

"Not so much if you think about it. You and I are bound by trust, secrecy, war, and affection for my son." Harry felt himself blush at the last, but Narcissa ignored it. "Our souls play in ways that we dare not. As much as we wish it otherwise, we are both too well known to be ourselves and given the opportunity, the patronus will act upon that freedom."

"I've been meaning to ask, how does that work? Clearly you haven't stayed hidden throughout your life, and yet everyone has known you since you were young but no one was alive then."

"Our species is gifted with magic affecting the mind, although different forms will feel more natural to different people. That is why occlumency and legilimency come so easily to you now. For me, it was memory charms. I discovered early on that I can project an aura around me that alters the way others perceive me. As long as I have sufficiently transfigured my appearance, no one has ever questioned me."

Harry must have looked skeptical, because Narcissa just laughed and continued talking.

"There is still a lot for you to learn I imagine, since you are without a mentor. The ministry thinks that they can replace generations of experience and knowledge by assigning one of their own. But it simply cannot be done, even by one as intelligent as Ms. Granger. Or is it Weasley now?"

"It's complicated. I promised Draco I would help explain it to him when we had a chance to stop moving for a while, and I would like to only tell that part of the story once. Perhaps in the morning once he has woken, I will find the chance to tell it."

"Of course." Narcissa paused for a brief moment before she resumed what she had planned to say before they had gotten distracted. "If we all come out of this impending storm unscathed, I can teach you everything that there is to know about our lengthy existence. You have done surprisingly well on your own so far, even more so given your celebrity."

Harry slammed to a stop. Narcissa kept walking for a few paces before she realized that Harry was no longer with her. She turned to him with a brow raised in question.

"That," Harry paused before finding what he wanted to say. "That would be wonderful, thank you."

They continued walking in silence before Harry found the courage to break it again. There was so much that he wanted to know about himself, Narcissa, Draco, what they were likely to face, Draco, Lucius, how he could better help prepare his cohort, and Draco. He finally decided to start with the one everyone had been dancing around since it happened.

"How does claiming work? Chloe said that's what happened between Draco and I when we ran into each other at the Anniversary dinner. She didn't want him to get involved because he would be a bigger target once the fighting starts with Umbridge's horde of vampires, but that he's protected from everyone in our family."

"A claim is a choice. From both sides, although when it occurs between a vampire and a human, it must always come from the vampire first. You may not remember consciously making the choice with Draco, but you have also known each other for many years and it may have been buried for as long. Seeing him again will have pushed it to the forefront of your subconscious.

"His scent changed slightly once you made the initial claim, and it will change again once he reciprocates. As will yours. You both will take on aspects of the scent of the other. To vampires who are loyal to you, or weaker than you it will be a sign that this a person they should not hunt or allow to come to harm unless they wish to challenge you. To anyone else, it is a sign of your vulnerability. However, if you are facing most of what I suspect, it may not be as big of a disadvantage as Chloe thinks.

"Many of the vampires you will be facing will be younger and weaker than you, and will be hesitant to attack him. Any of the humans involved will not know the difference."

'Is that the only thing that can change our scent?" They had reached the back of the house, and Harry could see candle light flickering in the window to Draco's room. He reached out with his mind, and noticed immediately that Draco was fast asleep. Instead of disturbing him, he blew out the candle and followed Narcissa to the terrace where they continued their conversation.

"No. Any bond you form with anyone else will change it. Yours is already different than it was at the start of the evening, once you accepted my offer to be your mentor. There are many other ancients who will recognize my scent and that will also provide you with a modicum of protection. As it will protect Draco for being my child."

Harry thought for a moment. Her comment had reminded him of something, but he didn't know if it would be appropriate to ask or not. After all, it was something rather personal. But, he reasoned, vampires did have a different idea of what was considered personal. It wouldn't hurt to try.

"I do wonder about that." He spoke hesitantly. When Narcissa showed nothing but open consideration, he continued. "Draco was conceived and has grown and still changes as a human does, and yet you are unable to conceive yourself, if what I know about vampires is accurate."

"You are correct, I did not carry Draco myself." Harry shot her a questioning glance before smoothing his face again. "Lucius did."

Harry could not help but be surprised.

"It is a phenomenon that can only happen intentionally when magical beings are involved. It could not happen between two humans, wizard or no. Draco is half vampire, and as such would find pregnancy, or indeed the transition to vampire if he decides that is what he wants, much easier than yourself, or any other human male. Lucius did not fare well, and spent the last several weeks unconscious. I helped as much as I could, but even that could not entirely ease his suffering.

"As bad as Lucius had it however, it was still less dangerous than if I had carried him. The few times I have seen vampires conceive, they have always died. In those cases, the child is always entirely vampire and destroys the parent. It is not a pleasant thing to witness."

Harry sat back in silence and contemplated the moon as it started to set. Narcissa had said relatively little about the subject, but she had still left him with much to contemplate. Her warning to him rang in his ears. He still had the opportunity to have a family of his own, eventually, if he ever reached a point where he felt comfortable doing so. The thought was comforting, even though it was fraught with danger. He still had his friends, and the others back at the house, but it was not the same as having a true flesh and blood family. He had given up hope when he had realized what had happened to him five years ago.

He was barely aware of Narcissa standing to enter the house. His thoughts led him to consider the tone Narcissa used with him. It was soft and caring. At first he had attributed it to his being a vampire under her mentorship, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that she had always taken that tone with him. Even when he was still human and at Hogwarts, she had treated him gently. The Narcissa that he thought he knew, that the world knew, was vastly different that who she was now. Perhaps they had the war to thank for that, or Lucius' view of the world, but, Harry thought. None of that matters now.

As the sun started to rise over the hill, Harry could hear Draco moving around upstairs. Standing, he went to join the others inside.